title: Endocrine disruption of sexual selection by an estrogenic herbicide in the mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor).
abstract: The role that endocrine disruption could play in sexual selection remains relatively untested, and although estrogens occur in insects, little information exists about their biological role in insect reproduction. Atrazine is a commonly applied herbicide that mimics estrogen in vertebrates. Tenebrio molitor were raised from egg to adult under a gradation of environmentally relevant atrazine exposures and a non-treated control. Atrazine was delivered in the drinking water ad libitum. Female T. molitor were provided with a choice between unrelated males raised under three levels of atrazine exposures. Female preference for males demonstrated a non-monotonic inverted U-shaped response to atrazine exposure. There was no significant difference between the control and the high exposure to atrazine. Excluding the control, female preference increased as exposure concentration increased. These results have important repercussions for nonlethal effects of endocrine disruption on populations, their capacity to interfere with sexual selection, and the role of estrogen in pheromone communication among insects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 64441, USA, malcolm.mccallum.tamut@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Malcolm L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: McCallum
authors.forename: Makensey
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matlock
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Treas
authors.forename: Barroq
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Safi
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sanson
authors.forename: Jamie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: McCallum
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001280:Atrazine / Q000633:toxicity*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D008136:Longevity / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D013712:Tenebrio / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D006540:Herbicides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001280:Atrazine